Having dispatched Nick Kyrgios in straight sets, Andy Murray felt "expecting the unexpected" was pivotal to his progression at Roland Garros.
The 20-year-old Australian started brightly in his 6-4 6-2 6-3 defeat to the third seed but gradually ran out of steam as he was hampered by an elbow injury in the French capital.
In a fiery affair that saw the Australian produce a string of impressive shots while also displaying his trademark on-court exuberance, Murray kept his cool to beat Kyrgios for a third time.
"I've watched a lot of his matches so I obviously know what his personality is like," the Briton explained.
"He does have a game style and a personality on the court that lends itself to playing big matches on big courts.
"Sometimes you don't feel you can control what is happening because he's hitting huge shots and sometimes playing shots that no-one else tries.
"It's tricky to feel comfortable on court and that's why he's had so many good results because he takes you out of your comfort zone.
"You go on court expecting the unexpected, if you have that mindset you can deal with some of the shots he comes up with.
"You just have to be on your toes at all times and try be ready for something different. I feel like I've done a good job of weathering the storms as he has periods where he's on fire and hits unbelievable shots.
"I've just tried to stay solid and make it difficult for him."
Murray also revealed he could tell when Kyrgios began to struggle with his arm, adding: "At the beginning he was serving big, over 200km/h.
"Then he started slowing to 170, 180 and not really going for aces. He normally serves a bunch of aces and has a quick motion but today after the first set he started to slow the serve down.
"On the overhead, he was clearly struggling and that was obviously to my benefit."